Visiting the Vatican

Besides the ancient ruins, the other grand site to see while in Rome is the Vatican.  So we walked the kilometer or two across the river and got our place in the long line to go inside St. Peter's Bascilica.  Luckily it moved fairly quickly and after only 30 minutes we made it into the largest church on earth.  The church itself was very impressive as was the artwork  including works by Michaelangelo and other famous Italian greats.  Wanting to respect the dress code we all wore more clothing.  with much protest, sam even wore pants.  as it turned out we didn't really have to.  It appeared it was just short shorts that were off limits.  On a hot day like it was that would've been good to know.   After seeing the inside, we went to the top of the dome.   You can take the stairs the whole way or take lift part way.  Being so hot, we opted for the lift.  The lift takes you to a level where you can go inside the dome on a walkway lining the base of the actual dome and looking down into the church.  It's a cool view but at first I thought that was it and was a bit disappointed.  But as we were walking through a hallway back out we turned and headed up the stairs inside the dome wall towards the top lookout.  It was quite a climb and as the walls started to slope more it became more awkward to walk.  Our Rome guidebook says the view is overrated but I  thought was quite impressive.  The crowds made it somewhat awkward to get around but I thought it was an impressive 360 degree view.  With no admissions and only a modest lift fee, this was a real deal for seeing such a site.  It takes a bit of patience with the heat and crowds though.